Patriots Beat: Pats in dire need of next men up

So which loss will be too much to take? With a 5-1 team in our midst, it is too soon to know. What began, however, as a small home finishing project has become a task that resembles construction on Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia, a temple that has been under construction since 1882.

What began, however, as a small home finishing project has become a task that resembles construction on Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia, a temple that has been under construction since 1882.

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Vince Wilfork crumbled to the turf with a torn Achilles’ heel, and once the diagnosis was public, we thought, "How are they going to pull this off?" Rookie Joe Vellano and Chris Jones sufficed in spot duty. Then veteran free-agent pickup Tommy Kelly, Wilfork’s righthand man on the defensive line, went down with a knee injury in the Week 5 loss at Cincinnati. He returned, but didn’t play Sunday vs. the Saints and was absent from practice Wednesday.

On Sunday, Aqib Talib was in "Operation Shut Down Jimmy Graham," but in the third quarter he suffered a hip injury that had him slamming his helmet to the turf once he reached the sideline. He also missed Wednesday’s practice.

Now, the Patriots’ other defensive captain not named Wilfork is out for the remainder of the season. Reports came in Tuesday that linebacker Jerod Mayo was headed to injured reserve after having surgery on his torn right pectoral muscle, and the team confirmed as much on Wednesday, placing him on IR.

Mayo tore the muscle after assisting safety Steve Gregory in breaking up a Drew Brees pass intended for Darren Sproles with 3:41 to play deep in New England territory.

"Jerod, I think I’ve been on record many times talking about Jerod. He does a lot for us on the field (and) off the field," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "But we’re just going to have to move on."

Outside of Mayo, Kelly, and Talib, Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (concussion/groin), offensive guard Dan Connolly (concussion), and running back Leon Washington (ankle) also didn’t practice. Add that to seven other players who were limited in practice — yes, including Rob Gronkowski — and Robert Kraft might petition the league for his team to start playing flag football.

John Feinstein once wrote a book chronicling the 2004 Baltimore Ravens called, "Next Man Up: A Year Behind the Lines in Today’s NFL." Of course, that was nine years ago. But the saying holds true many injuries and miles up Route 95 later.

Now in his sixth year, Mayo has been the heart of the defense. A renowned worker, the two-time Pro Bowler and former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has missed just five games in his career.

Just as two weeks ago the focus turned to Jones and Vellano, the onus is now on Brandon Spikes, Dont’a Hightower and Dane Fletcher — mainly a special teamer since arriving in 2010 — to compensate adequately. More could also fall on the shoulders of 2013 second-round pick Jamie Collins, who played just six of 66 defensive snaps on Sunday.

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Mayo’s case is unique in that he wears the green dot on his helmet, meaning he is the only defensive player on the field able to communicate with the sidelines or the booth.

Second-year pro Hightower, who played just 24 of 66 snaps on Sunday, is expected to wear the green dot, something he did this preseason. But the communication extends to the other 10 guys on the field for the defense to flow smoothly.

"I think it’s always a collective group thing," said Gregory. "We take pride in everybody being able to communicate — from the d-line to the linebackers, from the linebackers to the secondary, we have to be able to communicate at a high level in order to make plays. When you don’t have that communication, you have those breakdowns."

The Patriots might seem like they have it worse than other teams injury-wise, and perhaps they do.

But the comparatively healthy players left in the locker room aren’t about to throw any pity parties for their unique misfortune.

"When you lose someone like we did with Vince or Jerod, it’s tough," quarterback Tom Brady said. "But I’d say a lot of teams deal with it too. You don’t want to feel sorry for yourself. What you realize is somebody has to fill in and do the job. As much as you hate to lose guys, there’s nothing you can do about it and the season doesn’t end.

"You have to keep fighting on, just as they would want us to, just like they did when I went out, just like they did when guys like Rodney (Harrison) went out. We’ve lost some pretty key, critical guys over the years. ... You just have to try to fill the spot and other guys have to pick up the slack."

Before they can turn their eyes to their future opponents, the Patriots must get their own house in order.

There’s some remodeling to be done.

Tim Whelan Jr. can be reached at 508-626-4402 or twhelan@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @thattimwhelan.